.listen: "Defiance"

Album: A CD-R containing one song from .listen's future album Atomic Sunrise, "Defiance," was all that was submitted.

Basics: .listen is a young man named Eric who moved from Vermont to Scottsdale and has been a MySpace member since April 5. .listen is billed simply as such: With heavy Angels and Airwaves influence, .listen answers the question at the crossroads: "When will I come back home? Maybe when you come alive." They also propose a question in return: "When will you open your eyes? Maybe when you come alive."

You had me at "heavy Angels and Airwaves influence." What, Blink-182 is too old to remember? Kids these days...

Best Song: Well, this one was a tough one, but I am going to have to go with "Defiance." The intro to the song carries with it a lot of promise, all of which comes crashing down once the over-nasally vocals kick in. The rest of the song follows a pretty standard alt-rock formula, complete with a warbling, held-note chorus ("yooooou," "throoooough"). Although the man behind .listen has an entire album ready, he is still actively searching for a drummer and a bassist. These vital components would very much help flesh out the band's rather primitive sound.

Worst Song: Again, a tough search, but I'm going to have to choose "Defiance." The fact that .listen only submitted one song is not why I have chosen that track as both the best and worst song. No, it's because "Defiance" is both the best and worst song. How is it the worst song, you ask? Simple -- songwriting. Please to enjoy this doozy of a lyric and tighten your belt, as your pants may get rocked off: "I wake up just to push myself / You wake up just to get around / If I didn't make this clear eye-nuff* / You need to wake up and change yourself." That is some life-altering shit, right there. Life-altering, non-rhyming shit.

Suggestions: If you have an entire album ready, then don't waste a CD-R on one song. I can hear it now: "But the album wasn't ready when I sent you the one song." Then don't send just one song and wait until the album is finished to submit anything. Let this be a lesson.

Grade: C- for the music, F for the fact an album exists yet only one song was submitted.

*For some odd reason, the word "enough" is bizarrely sung as "eye-nuff" in this instance. Go figure.

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If you're a musician from the Phoenix metro area and would like to have your music reviewed in You Asked For It (our first-come, first-served and often harsh record review column) please send it in an envelope marked "YAFI" to